I think Zicam is a crock and so is all the other cold remdies. I just did a facebook status a few days ago because I was in shock the product Cold Eeze had the chutzpah to say in its commercial that it stops the replication of the cold virus. A facebook friend (who happens to be married to a doctor) argued that there is clinical evidence that zinc shortens colds. So, I bothered to google and there are clinical studies for zinc losangers that show relief from some symptoms like sore throat and cough, but does not reduce fever (fever is very rare in adults for a cold) and so that says to me it doesn’t do anything to shorten a cold or reduce replication of the virus, it just relieves symptoms like tons of other candies you can suck on or your mamas chicken soup. There are medicines that actually reduce pain and fever like ibuprofen and tylenol, and there are actual antihystamines and decongestants, but they do not shorten a cold either, they just relieve symptoms.
It also mentioned people losing their sense of smell from nasal sprays wth zinc, sometimes permanently.
Like someone said on my facebook—snake oil. At least in my opinion it is. I don’t believe in megadosing any vitamin or mineral unless someone is legitametly deficient. I definitely don’t think megadosing on zinc, or vitamin C for that matter, cures a cold.
Airborne had to pay fines for false claims about their, I call it, candy. It never ceases to amaze me that this sort of thing goes on. I don’t know what Zicam claims, they might be on the right sideof the grey line I don’t know.